Pursuit of the Kage Assassin
Throughout the history of the ninja world, there have been countless times where the Kage of the five great nations had to stand before their respective villages, sometimes other villages as well, and give speeches. Some of these speeches were praise for the village's accomplishment, while others served to rally the village in preparation for conflict. Some of the most prominent speeches of the last hundred years include the Fifth Kazekage's speech to rally the Allied Shinobi Forces and the induction speech of the Seventh Hokage. Both reached unprecidented audiences for their time, addressing previously unheard of numbers of people. Today, that record was once again about to be broken. For the first time in the history of the ninja world, the Kage of all Five Great Nations were gathered in Konohagakure, to deliver a speech that would be broadcast in a record breaking sixteen countries, almost the entire continent. Nestled in the massive balcony of the Hokage's mansion, the five Kage, dressed in their traditional robes and hats, sat discussing the final details of their speech. Outside the voices of thousands upon thousands of eager listeners filled the air. Each Kage was fully aware the deafening sound represented only a fraction of their listeners. Many thousands more listening all across the continent. The door to the balcony opened and a woman dressed in formal business attire walked out between the kage. Each recognized her as the representative of the television station that was broadcasting the event. "We're on in five." She informed the Kage, holding up a hand with all five digits extended in case she couldn't he heard over the noise outside. "Is there anything..." The representative's thought was interrupted with the sudden appearance of a hooded figure in black fatigues. The body type suggested a male, but with every part of their body covered it was difficult to determine for sure. The representative had opened her mouth the call for security when the figure suddenly vanished, leaving a coil of strange circular tags in his wake. Terror ensued outside as a ear splitting explosion rang out form the balcony. Where the entire country had expected to see the Kage appear in mere minutes was now a mass of blue flames and debris. Several spectaters that had been pressed against the barricade established by the Konohagakure's military were crushed by a large piece of debris that had separated form the balcony. Dozens of ninja bearing uniforms form all villages began rushing towards the explosion, while the mass of civilians scurried away from the blast. Amongst the cascade of civilians, stood a shinobi of Kumogakure origin. One known as the current Safeguard of the Shadows He, along with the rest of the hidden shinobi scanned the area for any particular "funny business". During his watch, explosions suddenly went off. Causing a city wide panic as the civilians rush to clear the area. And from the corner of the scene, a hooded figure was seen exiting at a quickened pace. He looked around himself, only to find out that there were no other shinobi around to aid in the pursuit of the mysterious person. Assuming that he'd have to go at it alone, the dark skinned shinobi sped off to keep the man within village bounds; shouting and doing whatever he could to get people's attention on the culprit. Kiyoshi's yelling only seemed to alert the hooded figure to Kiyoshi's presence, as the hordes of frightened civilians only continued to run past him. Now aware of his pursuer, the figure quickened its pace, heading towards the village's North gate, undoubtedly looking for an escape. "Damn it.." Kiyoshi whispered to himself as the figure sped up. Jumping from the hordes of people, atop a nearby roof, Kiyoshi's vision stayed exclusively locked on the figure. "I hope they doesn't plan to escape so easy." He uttered preparing to strike the person down once he could get a clear opening. Shortly after Kiyoshi ascended to the rooftops, another series of blasts rang out, this time spanning across the entire village. These explosions seemed different form the one that destroyed the balcony. At first they appeared random, but Kiyoshi quickly realized their intend as the flow of people redirected, almost every single one heading towards the North gate. This was undoubtedly the work of the hooded figure, to help mask his escape. Now the hope of an opening for Kiyoshi to engage the figure was all but lost. The gate was already in sight for the man, and once he was beyond the gate there was no telling where he would try to escape to. "And he's lost with the crowd... Damn..." Kiyoshi spoke with annoyance as the figure disappeared from his sight. "I don't suspect that anyone else was keeping track.. He's probably long gone now...." Kiyoshi sighed with slight frustration. "I wonder if there is anything that'll aid with cstcgingt his trail.." Though the crowd lessened in density upon exiting the gate, the confused civilians still made an adequate cover for the hooded figure. Dodging between panicked mothers and crying children, the figure steadily distanced himself form the village gate. Just when it appeared he was home free however, something tugged on his arm, halting him in his tracks.Turning, the figure saw a distraught silver haired woman in a raggedy old coat holding on to his fatigues. "I can't find my son!" The woman shrieked. "You have to help me." Showing no interest in the woman's plea the man attempted to push the woman away, but to no avail. Despite the fact it would draw unwanted attention the hooded man had not time to waste. Raising his and, the hooded figure attempted to strike the woman to force the removal of her iron grip. Much to his surprise, the woman grabbed his wrist in mid strike. "I don't think so." the woman said, her demeanor having made a sudden turn. "Your not getting away." Surrounding civilians were now taking notice to the altercation and stepping back. Within moments the woman and hooded man were seemingly standing in the middle of an island within the ocean of people. The woman released the man's fatigues and threw her arm into the air, releasing a flash bang high above her head. Herds of screams and a bang later.... Kiyoshi's attention was drawn to the noise. Immediately looking into the crowd he saw the confrontation of the hooded figure and a silver haired woman. Kiyoshi's mind was relief that someone managed to get ahold of the person before he could've escaped. "Excellent!" Kiyoshi voiced with excitement. Not wanting to waste anymore time in rejoicing. Kiyoshi headed into the crowd and to the duo engaged in contact. Noticing the shinobi that had spotted him within the walls of the village, the hooded figure let out a quick groan. His attempt at a smooth escape was quickly leaning towards a clumsy exit. Had he been wise enough not to stay and watched the explosion he may have already escaped. Now he had to evade two enemy combatants. Luckily, he still had the field advantage. The hooded figure jumped back, his arm slipping out of the silver haired woman's grasp. Slipping to the edge of the crowd, the figure plucked a young teen girl from the crowd and pulled her between him and his pursuers. "Take one step forward and she's dead." the figure threatened in a muffled voice, his hands placed around the frightened young girl's head in preparation to snap her neck. Kiyoshi approached the area with caution, stopping beside the silver haired woman. He hissed lowly as the man threatened the young girl's life. He halted himself, raising his hands I'm surrender, not wanting the innocent girl to get injured. "You must be extremely desperate.." Kiyoshi spat in an angered tone. "You're pathetic.." The hooded man remained silent, his gaze concealed behind a piece of dark cloth. The girl remained paralyzed with fear, visibly trembling in the hooded man's grasp. Half of the already agitated crowd began commanding Kiyoshi and the woman to quickly save the girl, while the other half just looked on with terrified eyes. The hooded man seemed to have the upper hand, but that once again quickly changed. The man's right hand shot off the girl's head, extending out to his side. The girl quickly wiggled free from his grasp, assimilating back into the sea of bodies. "Now!" the woman shouted to Kiyoshi, seemingly gripping something at her side. With the confrontation on edge, Kiyoshi would closely watch for any opening that he could get to engage the hooded person. He stared at the young girl, attempting to keep her calm with the warming nature of his gray eyes. Seemingly as if it were done on purpose, the girl was able to slipping away from the person's grip. Giving Kiyoshi the opening he needed to engage. Right on cue, Kiyoshi would make shift use of the Body Flicker Technique, seeking to move to their side at generally amazing speeds. It may have even seemed as an act of teleportation. Clenching his fists tightly, the man aimed for a devastating punch to the side of the target's body. Though bound by the woman's trick, the man didn't seem to be in a panic, even as Kiyoshi appeared at his flank ready to deliver a crippling shot to the liver. As Kiyoshi's fist reached its target, Kiyoshi was surprised to see his fist pass harmlessly through the man's body, as if he had simply struck air. Not only had the figure evaded Kiyoshi's punch, but the silver haired woman suddenly felt slack on her hidden threads. The man's widened as his hand effortlessly faded through his body. "What the hell is this?" Kiyoshi's mind was boggled by the trick and he couldn't begin to fathom what was taking place. Even with Kiyoshi's adept sensory, the person's essence was erased from all existence. He was very much visible to the naked eye, but he suddenly lacked physical components. "Could this be? Kamui?!?" Having evades both his adversaries' attacks, the figure's body became engulfed in a strange transparent spiral, before quickly disappearing from view. Many spectators in the crowd gasped, unsure of what they had just witnessed but confident is was not a good thing. By now several Leaf ninja had arrived on scene, though moments too late to witness the hooded man's escape. One of the jonin, a tall bald man in his thirties, approached Kaito, obviously looking for an explanation. The dark skinned shinobi cursed his awful luck as the figure shamelessly escaped with what was most definitely a variant of Kamui. Seeking to catch on to his trail, Kiyoshi looked back toward the silver haired woman. "Pardon me.." Kiyoshi began, approaching the woman. "I think it'd be best if we continued to trail them... I'm sure they couldn't have gotten very far." "I agree." the woman stated. "I guess I won't be needing this anymore," Grabbing at the shoulder of her old coat, the woman removed the garment in one swift motion, revealing an attire the was the polar opposite of the conservative old duster. The woman's top was a silver sleeveless undershirt that exposed her lower stomach and held tight to her body. The top was covered in random splotches of a darker gray that seemed to resemble an odd type of camouflage. Her pants resembled her top in that they were almost skin tight and had a similar two tone gray pattern. The woman's right arm was a mess of kanji, each describing phrases such as "trust in me" and "protect what matters." The jonin that had approached Kiyoshi was momentarily distracted by the sudden change in attire, so much so that he didn't notice the raggedy old jacket until it draped itself across his face. "Shall we get going?" the woman asked Kiyoshi. "Absolutely." Kiyoshi replied, turning away the village. Removing his shaded face wear, Kiyoshi revealed his eyes' gray coloration. Suddenly young man's gray colored eye were washed away by a seemingly bright white hue and soon after, alined perfectly around the onyx pupil rested three tomoe; showcasing his renowned white sharingan. "I'll be able to see his specific chakra color this way.. He'll be much easier to track down." The woman looked at Kiyoshi's eyes for a moment, seemingly zoning out before snapping back to reality. "I'm sensing a sudden chakra signature to the West. That's likely our target. I hope you can keep up." With that the woman quickly vanished, a small cloud of dust kicking up where she stood mere moments ago. Kiyoshi smiled lightly before bolting in the same direction as the woman, suddenly reappearing beside her. "By the way, my name is Kiyoshi Yuri." "They call me Kirā." The woman replied, not even turning to look at Kiyoshi. ---- The two ninja traveled in silence as they moved towards the strange chakra signature of the assassin. Both seemed fixated on the pursuit, steadily gaining on their target. Kirā led the pair, the duo relying on her chakra sensing abilities until the assassin was within range of Kiyoshi's Sharingan. Though they two ninja were mostly cloaked in the shadows of the leafy tree tops, dots of sunshine peaked through the foliage, reflecting of Kirā's silver hair like polished jewelry whenever she passed by. "He's about one kilometer ahead of us." Kirā announced. "He's not moving very quick. He could be waiting to ambush us." "That...or he could be suffering from the repercussions of his teleportation technique." There was an immediate silence after Kiyoshi's response. "We should plan just in case he decides to ambush us." With his suggestion, Kiyoshi halted his advancement. "Against recommendations on how we should execute this?" Kirā thought for a moment before answering, pressing her index finger to her lips as the wheels turned in her mind. "I'm not much of a straight forward fighter. I recommend you move ahead and attempt to capture the assassin. I won't be far behind, so in the event he springs a trap I'll be right there to assist. It goes without saying we should attempt to take the target alive. For... questioning." "I see. Well. I'm off." Kiyoshi replied in a calm manner before continuing his trail forward. Picking up his pace, Kiyoshi's white heavenly eyes scanned the area for any suddenly attacks. Kirā watched as Kiyoshi disappeared into the trees, keeping track of his chakra signature as he went. Kiyoshi didn't have to wait long before making contact with the assassin. However, it was not quite in the way he had expected. As he jumped from branch to branch scanning for chakra, a male voice called out from the trees. "So you also bear those eyes. I hadn't expected to encounter one such as you." "Those eyes you say? So you are a Sharingan wielder and more importantly the Mangekyō sharingan..." Kiyoshi chuckled replying back to the voice's statement. "I can't help but be bothered by the fact that people like you give Uchiha descendants like me a bad name." "So naive." the stranger spoke, stepping out onto a thick tree branch, in full view of Kiyoshi. "The Uchiha have never had a good name. They have been a consistent cause of atrocities, one after another. Madara, Sasuke, Itachi, all paved their way through history with chaos and death. My mere existence is just another atrocity they resulted from what the Uchiha are." Lifting up his hand, the assassin flipped back his hood, revealing his face in its entirety. The man before Kiyoshi had a face covered in scars, making it difficult to determine his age. Poking from between the various marks was notably pale skin, which seemed to make the Sharigna glow even brighter in contrast. The man's light grey hair was slicked back, so much so it almost came to a point. The odd hairstyle almost gave the man's head the appearance of a damaged onion. "My father created me with the soul purpose of bringing the Uchiha back into the spotlight, again intending carnage that would have ravaged the shinobi land. My brothers and I prevented another atrocity and the hands of the Uchiha by slaying our father before his plan could come to fruition. Despite my detest for what the Uchiha have done in the past, today I was forced to write yet another chapter in the Uchiha's path of destruction, but hopefully by doing so a greater evil has been prevented." "I don't completely understand the complexity of what you mean." Kiyoshi's visage had remained the same as he spoke. "Greater evil? Maybe it's just another thing I won't understand until the time comes. For now.. I'm going to bring you in." Taking on a certain position, Kiyoshi clenched his fists while glared the man in the eyes. "Heh.. Why don't we skip the genjutsu battle and cut right into the real action." Clasping his hands in a single motion, the ground beneath the two began to violently tremble. In one terrifying explosion, Kiyoshi's entire being was engulfed on yellow electrical charges. "Prepare yourself.." "If I must. I suppose conflict cannot be helped." Without warning a spiraling vortex opened up in front of the assassin's chest, undoubtedly the Kamui Kiyoshi had seen the assassin used earlier. Several shuriken, many times larger than regular shuriken, emerged from the vortex and sped towards Kiyoshi, the blades a blur as the weapons cut through the air. Upon seeing the massive shuriken being fired from the spiraling vortex, thecdark skinned shinobi release an electrical shockwave from his body; slightly knocking the weapons back, giving him an opening to engage. From there Kiyoshi sped in, emitting the electrical aura around right his fist. In one swift motion, the young man rammed his fist into the ground sending the charges below that then burst from the ground with in intent of striking who was still suspended in a tree. Allowing himself to fall from the tree, the assassin narrowly evaded the lighting, which passed in front of him, mere inches from his face. Slowly rotating his body as he fell, the assassin brought his hands together and formed a rapid series of hand seals. One the rotation brought him full circle, he unleashed a massive ball of fire from his mouth, aiming the attack directly at Kiyoshi. And without so much as a single notion, from the young man's mouth; a dense blast of spiraling water. It was a short lived combat as the water disbursed the flames into a hot steam. With quick thinking and speedy responses, Kiyoshi leaped through steam before converting the moist air into two orbs of water. Upon landing on the ground, the young man slid forward while managing to perform two rotations moving his arms in the direction of Shin. By doing this, the dual orbs followed his movements, changing into long whips that aimed for the assassin's mid section. The assassin tried to evade the water whips by leaping back, but his reaction time wasn't quite quick enough. The first whip missed his abdomen by mere millimeters, but the second struck violently against his ribs. Wincing in pain, the assassin made a quick attempt to gain the high ground, leaping high into the air and back flipping onto a nearby tree, landing parallel to the ground. Before he could catch his breath however, another blast of water, this one in the form of a pressurized jet, began tearing through the foliage. By allowing himself to fall off the tree trunk to the ground below, he narrowly avoided the jet as it cleanly sliced through the tree. The assassin managed to land on his feet, only to find the woman whom had stopped him in the crowd burying her foot in his face. Having timed her water attack and kick perfectly, Kirā couldn't help but let out a soft laugh as she watched the assassin bounce along the ground. "It's been awhile since I got to fight like this." Kirā said, apparently addressing Kiyoshi. "I almost forgot how much fun it is. Perhaps we can let this one drag on for a moment before capturing him?" Straightening his posture, Kiyoshi chuckled lightly, amused by the woman's remark. "Well we had the guy. But if you wish to rough him up a bit. By all means, go ahead." Flashing a cheeky smile, the young man leaned into a nearby, crossing his arm and nodded in agreement. "As you were." Bending her neck hard to the side, Kirā cracked her neck and smiled. It was hard for her to contain her excitement, having not felt the trill of combat for years. However, the woman silently reminded herself that she needed the assassin for her research, and therefore couldn't kill him. At least not quite yet. The assassin, staggering to a vertical base, clearly saw the situation was no longer in his favor. "I guess I have no choice but to fight seriously now." Slowly closing his eyes and reopening them, the assassin once again revealed his crimson iris, though this time the three tomoe had been replaced with a large circle withe three points handing off in different directions. There was not doubt that the assassin had activated the legendary Mangekyō Sharingan. "I'll give you one chance to retreat, but none once the confrontation begins. I rather not have to slay both of you here, but the choice is yours to make."